From the time of first holding her until she was eight weeks old I was kindly allowed to make regular visits to see her, and our bond grew stronger at each visit. I also found that being around the breeder’s other Goldens was helping to ease the tremendous grief I was feeling over Honey. At eight weeks of age I took my beautiful puppy home. She was a delight right from the start – well apart from her house-training which took six months to achieve! Honey had house-trained so quickly so this was all rather odd – but we got there in the end.

We had so much fun every day, and when Molly a rescue moved in Maddie and Molly played constantly. She was certainly a happy girl. She and Molly loved swimming together, going to the beach, and out on long walks together. They also cuddled up together from time to time and were very close – always wanting to know where the other was.

 Maddie had her first ever season aged eighteen months – which was also somewhat unusual. She was mated to a lovely boy called Echo, and had eight pups by caesarean section on 19.11.2004 The caesarean was necessary due to having all the puppies on one horn (side) of her womb. My vet had never seen that before and hasn’t since. It is very dangerous as the womb can twist with the weight of the puppies and cause them to suffocate. Luckily I got Maddie to the vet in good time, and she and the puppies were all safe. I remember crying when I saw her on the operating table awaiting her procedure. I felt so unable to help my lovely girl, and had to put her life in the hands of the vet. Despite knowing he was very competent I was in pieces over her. I kept one of the puppies – and called her Tekka, which means finer/more beautiful in Cornish. After that time Maddie went on to have eleven puppies in her next litter which she delivered herself, then a litter of four, and finally a litter of eight. She absolutely adored puppies – hers and everyone else’s, and could often be seen in the whelping box washing bottoms, and babysitting the other girl’s pups.

 Maddie was a very fit and healthy dog all her life – right up to the end. She was a real show off out in the field whilst having her run with the other dogs. If we threw a ball – she had to get their first – usually with a fantastic gymnastic display on the way – or if we threw her frisbee – which she loved – she would leap so high into the air to catch it and looked quite spectacular. She also loved chasing bubbles – and I always had some in the house for her. We loved playing that game together. I bought her a big boomer ball which she loved – it was bigger than a football and very hard. She would put her front feet on it and scrape it backwards so it went underneath her – all the time barking at it with excitement. I stopped her from playing with it because I was worried about the neighbours complaining – that is something I regret as I deprived her of something she really enjoyed. I did, however buy her a smaller version of the same thing – which she played with indoors.

 Maddie absolutely loved her toys – she had a selection upstairs in my bedroom in a box, and others downstairs. She was the only dog who looked after her toys – all the others would see how fast they could get the stuffing out. She particularly liked ‘speaking’ type toys – like her cow that mooed, and her frog that croaked – she also loved her babble ball which had different animal sounds on it. I think that was probably her favourite toy. I bought her a new one for Christmas – not every year – but often.

Maddie was a gentle soul – she never snatched food, never growled at anything or anyone, but just went quietly along – mainly just keeping an eye on me, and making sure she was always there for me. She knew when I was sad, or unwell, and sat near me without any fuss whatsoever. She was never demanding – no nudging me for attention or being pushy in any way. She always lay on the bottom corner of my bed and only came up to lie next to me if she knew I needed her – or if she needed me. We had a very good understanding, and were quite simply soul mates. Sometimes she would come up the bed and lie along side me. There she would thoroughly wash my right hand – turning it over with her nose as if it were a puppy, and then lay her head on my hand where she would then go to sleep. These are the things I miss so much.

If ever I had a visiting dog here I could guarantee she would accept her/him, and if a youngster she would play endlessly with her/him. If I took a rescue in – she was always the one who accepted the new arrival – never even a hint of jealousy or nastiness – just kindness and reliability.

To be continued…… Apologies – I can’t finish this at present as it just hurts too much – but I will get there one day I hope.